Hooray! The next in my Dapper Animals series is Captain Badger. The pattern to make him is now complete! He was the first friend that I created for my Dapper Mr. Fox. And I'm so excited for you to have the opportunity to make your own quirky stuffed animals!

These 13 inch tall badgers are so fun to make. The tiny jacket is my favorite part. The elbow patches make me giggle.

This pattern (like my others) includes detailed step-by-step instructions, full of photos to show you what each step looks like, so that you'll never be lost. All of the pattern pieces are full size (requiring no enlarging)! You just print out the PDF file and you are ready to start! And, as always, if you have any questions, you can email me directly about them at rachel.linquist at gmail dot com.

This fox design is truly my pride and joy. I first designed him about two years ago. And though I've sold several, and have been featured in the Plush You! Art Show and the upcoming Stuffed Magazine with this fellow, he is very detailed and takes a fair amount of time to put together, making him a bit out of most stuffed animal shopper's price range. But he is so so fun and satisfying to make, so I decided to create a detailed, step by step tutorial/pattern and release him into the world for others to enjoy making!

I am so proud of the construction of his face, his elbows akimbo, his upturned tail, and his little tailored vest and collar, but I think I'm most proud of the way my son loves the fox I made for him. I had to make a new fox from start to finish for the pattern, because even though the pattern is tried and true, I needed to take photos of the creation at each point along the way. So I promised my son that the one I was making for the pattern was to be his very own, and I was so touched by how excited he was about that. Now that it's finished, he's been setting the fox on the couch beside him when he watches TV, on his headboard at bedtime. All of this with a kid who is used to him mom making him stuffed animals regularly! This is by far the most appreciative he's been of a mom-made toy.

I hope your kid feels the same when you make one for him or her!

Here's an example of a photo from the tutorial. Each step has at least one (and sometimes more) photo to guide you in the creation of your dapper fellow.

I am currently finishing up a pattern for Fox's friend, Badger! And shortly after that I will begin to create the pattern for their friend Raccoon. And somewhere a little further down the road I plan to create a pattern of a Hare, as well as a sweet little Robin couple.

I can't wait to show you the Stuffed Magazine feature, because my son helped me make up such sweet stories for these little creatures; I'll share them with you when the August issue of the magazine comes out, any day now!

I've been collecting vintage flower pins for a while now, and I was thrilled this weekend when I was thrifting and came across my newest addition. The white one in the center above was in the little jewelry case, and when I asked to see it, I nearly fainted to find that the price tag was 95 cents! Of course I bought it on the spot.

These two are my favorites. I often wear them together, pinned to my jean jacket or cardigan.

The little red one is the perfect scale for my dolls, I just realized! Look how cute my cloth Frida doll looks with it pinned to her lacy blouse.

The little orangish-brownish one is really cool, too. The two layers of petals can pivot, and thus make two different looks:

Do you collect vintage accessories? What are your favorites? Where do you have the best luck finding them? Share in the comments!